Summer Sewing

How is your summer going? My kids start back at school in three weeks, which makes me realize how much the summer has flown by. We’ve been busier than ever, with my oldest off at two church camps and a national competition for TSA (Technology club), my second one attending one church camp and three school “innovations”, my third attending a school Stem Camp, and all of my kids signed up for whatever free library events I could find. (Most of those camps were free too, actually.) So I’ve been a busy chauffeur mom this summer, but I’ve also managed to sew some items and get one more sewing pattern ready for publishing.

Back in April, my oldest convinced us to get a dog. We gave in to popular demand and got this little guy at the SPCA. His name is Crisp (he came with that name), he’s about 6, and is a hound/feist mix. The first picture shows the first time we met him. The others are in the months since. We really love him! I hang out with him most, so he’s bonded especially with me. I’m glad we got a dog.

Teaching Seminary (an early morning scripture study class for high schoolers) really takes a lot out of me, so my sewing projects in the last couple months of school were few and far between. During the summer I managed some more things. I’ll just go through my projects in order.

My daughter requested a stuffed cockatiel for her friend’s birthday. I bought this pattern from Etsy.

My daughter was old enough to go to her first church Prom. I made her a new dress for the occasion using the Love Notions Bluezette Dress. She chose the fabrics. They are mostly from Fabric Wholesale Direct.

I had a customer that I worked with since November to make custom stockings. Here are the finished ones.

My niece turned 8 and I made her a scripture case from my Sweet Sunday Bag pattern, as is my tradition in the family.

When the end of the year dance came around, I offered to make my daughter another fancy dress. I chose the Patterns for Pirates Gala Gown and also used fabric from Fabric Wholesale Direct. This is one of my favorite projects! It turned out perfectly.

My kids have gotten into resin crafts. Two of them used resin for school projects, and two have started an Etsy shop with my help. I’ll post about that in a week or so after I help them spruce it up a bit. I also enjoy working with resin and have made some fun things. I experimented with making molds and used them to make resin Philadelphia temples for my graduating Seminary students. That was a huge ordeal! The final result is really pretty, at least.

My daughter needed slacks for her TSA competition. I used a stretch twill and gray ponte to make her two sets of slacks, both from the Alyse Taper Leg Pants pattern from Designer Stitch.

For my daughter’s birthday, I made her a bunch of clothes. Some of these are things she’s asked for, but some are just things I thought she would like. Everything was a winner!

My husband’s grandmother passed away this summer. While sad, it was also a relief for her because she’s been ready for years and her health has deteriorated. She loved purple, so the family all planned to wear purple to her memorial service. I bought some double brushed poly and stretch lace from Etsy for myself, then ended up using them for my younger daughter too. My older daughter got some purple feather fabric I bought from a fabric destash. I love her dress a lot. The memorial was beautiful! My husband and sons had purple ties to match. I really wish we had gotten a picture, but we didn’t remember to do so.

I’ve had a few other small projects and orders. I’ve already started getting stocking orders! One thing I did that is exciting to me is to order acrylic templates made of my Yuletide Stocking pattern. They will be so helpful during my stocking rush.

Later this week I will be releasing my Slimline Sling pattern! I’m really happy with how testing has gone, and my testers have said some really complimentary things. Can’t wait for it to be ready!